This invention relates to a mounting sheet for use in exhibiting postage stamps or similar sheet-like articles, comprising a support sheet having secured thereto a plurality of leaflets or strips of transparent flexible material, the said transparent material leaflets being secured to the support sheet by one edge, thus forming a pocket which is maintained in a closed condition only by the resilience of the flexible material.
Sheets of the above referred kind are known for instance from the Italian Pat. No. 618810.
The mounting sheets of the above referred kind have been heretofore produced in a manual way, that is by cutting the single leaflets of transparent material, and by glueing the said sheets to the support sheet.
This method of manufacture is time consuming and costly.
It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a method for the production of mounting sheets for philatelistic use or the like comprising the steps of applying to one side of a sheet of transparent flexible material continuous lines of glue, applying the said sheet of transparent material on a support sheet with the glued side of said sheet of transparent material in contact with one side of the support sheet, compressing the said two sheets together along selected lengths of the said lines of glue with a pressure sufficient to effect the glueing of the said transparent material sheet to the support sheet along the said lengths compressed together, and cutting the said transparent sheet along a prefixed pattern, without cutting the underlying support sheet.
Advantageously, the continuous lines of glue applied to the transparent material sheet are allowed to partially dry before the support sheet is brought into contact with the glued side of the transparent sheet, so as to assure that the glueing together of the said sheets takes place only along those lengths of the glue lines which are compressed together with a sufficient pressure.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a machine for performing the above method, said machine comprising means for applying continuous parallel lines of glue on one side of a continuous sheet of transparent material, means for supplying the said glued sheet of transparent material to a punching platen press, means for supplying a support sheet to the said punching platen press, the said punching platen press being provided inside of its punches with means for compressing the selected lengths of the said glue lines on the support sheet, the said punches being adjusted so as to not cut the underlying support sheet, and means for expelling the spoil or discard portion of the said transparent sheet which was not glued to the said support sheet.